Building a Scalable SEM Organization

We find the business of Search Engine Marketing interesting from an economic standpoint, only to the extent it can be scaled. The demand for our services is strong, but doing a proper job of managing Adwords (and particularly Yahoo and MSN) accounts is incredibly labor intensive.

Return on our clients’ Ad Spending depends on a lot of technical, detailed, day to day decisions made within a framework for monitoring and continuously improving the performance of ad accounts. So the key to building a successful Search Engine Marketing (SEM) mammoth is to design the organization, at all levels, to provide exceptional client service.

Don’t Graze on Our Race Course

Do I need to say these things? Don’t miss deadlines. Prove yourself to be dependable. Don’t distinguish yourself adversely in terms of attendance and work ethics. Have a positive impact on those around you. Be generous with those having less experience. Make yourself inexpendable to the team. Be constructive. Be polite and considerate. Most of all, don’t lose a client! These are basic employee attributes; mess these up and you’re French Toast, in any position, on any continent, on any planet in the galaxy.

Reach Forward! If you’re not improving yourself, not striving daily to achieve the next level of expertise and productivity, then you’re taking up space which would be better utilized by someone more determined. This is an exciting moment, in an exciting industry. You are in the middle of a paradigm change which will transform advertising into an entirely new discipline. Get excited, or get off our race course.

All for One, and One for All

There are no sub-teams within the overall SEM group. Every SEM Analyst must work with every SEM Associate and SEM Manager. Every SEM Associate must work with every SEM Analyst and SEM Manager. SEM Managers factor the Compass so as to ensure the optimal crossover among all levels of SEM staff. Compensation is linked to promotions. Promotions are linked to performance, not time. An SEM Associate has the power to significantly influence the career (or non-career) of an SEM Analyst (that means she can fire you); an SEM Manager has the power to significantly influence the career (or non-career) of an SEM Associate, or SEM Analyst (that means she recommends promotions . . . or can fire you).

SEM Positions and Roles

This posting empowers our SEM Professionals because it defines in detail the standard requirements which can lead to a promotion. Of course, you can’t get a raise unless you are promoted. So for some employees, it’s an important topic.

In our company, simply staying alive isn’t enough to earn a promotion (or raise). To get promoted, you’ll have to do an exceptional job. Read on to learn what that entails.

SEM Analysts

SEM Analysts are responsible for the thoughtful day to day maintenance of pay per click campaigns. They implement recommendations included in client reports, perform account analyses which provide the basis for future recommendations, and create the monthly custom reports.

A successful SEM Analyst knows his or her accounts inside and out, thoroughly understands the technical aspects of how to manage Paid Search Advertising, and writes meticulously accurate and inspired reports with thoughtful analysis and ingenious recommendations. These are the basic duties, but do not fully describe an SEM Analyst’s responsibilities.

In addition to the above, a successful SEM Analyst must be able to facilitate the work of those around him or her. Don’t forget that you are at the bottom of the totem pole. Any work delegated by SEM Associates or SEM Managers becomes your responsibility. A successful SEM Analyst is twice as productive as an SEM Associate.

A successful SEM Analyst is technically proficient, and proves this by passing the Adwords exam.

A successful SEM Analyst asks intelligent, well thought out questions, and suggests a well-researched solution for each inquiry. A successful SEM Analyst studies the PPC Blog, and reads every client report issued by the company, as a means of developing ideas for improving the performance of clients’ SEM efforts.

A successful SEM Analyst lives, breathes, eats and sits Google Adwords. When you leave the office, you can’t wait to get home to your studying. When you awake, the only dreams you remember relate to account refactorings. For you, life is work, and work is life. Our success depends on you getting smarter. We’re all waiting on you. Go, go, go!!

If you’re a successful SEM Analyst, then you become a candidate for promotion to an SEM Associate. Promotion is based on evaluations. Raises are coincident with promotion. Evaluations for SEM Analysts are written by SEM Associates and SEM Managers.

SEM Associates

An SEM Associate is a technical wizard, has passed the Google Adwords exam, and thoroughly understands the company’s policies and techniques, in detail, for managing PPC campaigns. A successful SEM Associate knows his or her accounts inside and out. A successful SEM Associate thoroughly understands the technical aspects of how to manage Paid Search Advertising, including Adwords, Yahoo and MSN accounts. A successful SEM Associate writes meticulously accurate and inspired reports with thoughtful analysis and ingenious recommendations.

The day to day duties of an SEM Associate are similar to the basic day to day duties of an SEM Analyst, however, SEM Associates have added responsibilities.

A successful SEM Associate teaches, instructs, manages, and objectively evaluates the performance of SEM Analysts. SEM Associates are the primary source of energy and brain power for the entire team. Nobody works harder than a successful SEM Associate.

A successful SEM Associate can create a technically sound, thoroughly researched, perfectly executed PPC account from scratch. SEM Associates review the work of SEM Analysts, and take the heat for any mistakes which may slip by such review.

If you’re a successful SEM Associate, then you become a candidate for promotion to an SEM Manager. Promotion is based on evaluations. Raises are coincident with promotion. Evaluations for SEM Associates are written by SEM Managers.

SEM Managers

An SEM Manager is a technical wizard and proficient supervisor. A successful SEM Manager orchestrates the SEM team’s activities to ensure compliance with deadlines. A successful SEM Manager writes meticulously accurate and inspired reports with thoughtful analysis and ingenious recommendations. A successful SEM Manager flawlessly delivers a final product, suitable for issuance directly to the client.

A successful SEM Manager instills clarity of thinking in those around her. A successful SEM Manager is patient beyond belief with those who are genuinely trying.

A successful SEM Manager takes a top-down approach to reviewing her client accounts, and protects each account against any wasteful spending.

SEM Managers represent the creative genius of the team.

SEM Managers lead by example–they work harder than every other member of the SEM Team.

SEM Managers fairly allocate work among the team, review the performance of SEM Analysts and SEM Associates, and make careful and professionally responsible recommendations for promotions, on the basis provided herein.

A successful SEM Manager flawlessly delivers final work on time.

A successful SEM Manager inspires those around her to reach higher, work harder, and improve themselves professionally. Conversely, a successful SEM Manager would ruthlessly punish anyone caught grazing on our race course. Is the guy next to you searching job boards or playing computer games during working hours? Why should he be taking one more breath of our precious air? If you’re an SEM Manager, then it’s your responsibility to ensure that he doesn’t slow our pace. Of course we wouldn’t fire him on the spot for such a thing. That could lead to a careless decision. However, an SEM Manager would without hesitation send the weakest link home, with an invitation to return the next morning for a final decision regarding his likely execution.

If you’re a successful SEM Manager, then you become a candidate for promotion to an SEM Senior Manager. Promotion is based on evaluations. Raises are coincident with promotion. Evaluations for SEM Managers are written by Executive Management.

SEM Senior Managers

SEM Senior Managers manage client accounts and participate in profit sharing. SEM Senior Managers act like owners. SEM Senior Managers are accountable. They work harder than any other people on the planet. They remain just barely expendable . . . we all are, you know . . . but so very painfully so. SEM Senior Managers have a multiplicative effect on the Company’s ability to scale. If you’re not sure what that means, then pay a visit to the pyramids at Giza.